| For Immediate Release May 11, 2005 |
Contacts: | Raymond A. Colmenar 510-663-2333 ext. 302 510-418-7011 (cell) rcolmenar@policylink.org |
| Francisco Estrada 916-443-7531 916-952-0716 (cell) festrada@maldef.org |
||
POLICYLINK AND MALDEF REPORT FINDS STATE UNDERESTIMATES CALIFORNIA'S SCHOOL OVERCROWDING CRISIS; SAYS FUNDING OVERHAUL NEEDED
Sacremento, CA (May 11, 2005): A new report released by PolicyLink and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) finds that overcrowding in California schools is far greater than estimated. According to the report, Ending School Overcrowding in California: Building Quality Schools for All Children, more than 1.5 million students attend critically overcrowded schools while the state's definition of critically overcrowded schools underestimates the scale of students affected. According to the state, almost 1,000 California schools -- housing more than 1 million children -- were considered Critically Overcrowded Schools (COS) in 2002. Ninety percent of students attending COS schools are students of color, nearly two-thirds of whom are Latino. Passage of several bills currently pending in the legislature would help alleviate the school overcrowding problem. (See attached fact sheet information about the bills.)
Overcrowded schools have resulted in the use of lunchrooms, libraries, and an assortment of other spaces as classrooms. Attempts to alleviate overcrowding include the use of "temporary" measures such as reorganizing—even shortening—school years, busing children to other neighborhoods, and using portable classrooms. "Overcrowded classrooms make it difficult to learn," says Matt Varela, an eleventh grade student enrolled in Crescent View High School, in Fresno, California about his experiences at an overcrowded Fresno High School. "It seemed," he continues, "that every time I needed help and raised my hand the teachers would look past me, because there were too many students. In my English class, a few of my classmates had to take a test while standing because there were no seats available."
Raymond Colmenar, associate director of PolicyLink says, "If schools on multi-track systems were added to the overcrowding definition, the number of students attending critically overcrowded schools would increase to 1.5 million, or 25 percent of the state's public school enrollment." He continued by saying that "Counting students housed in portable classrooms and those being bused to other neighborhoods would add even more."
The report finds that over half the students enrolled in multi-track year-round schools in 2002 – about 500,000 students – attended schools the state did not consider to be overcrowded. Hundreds of thousands of additional students housed in old portable classrooms, or those bused away from their home schools because of overcrowded conditions, are not fully counted as attending overcrowded schools.
The effects of overcrowding are far-reaching. Students enrolled in a multi-track system have lower academic achievement and limited access to learning opportunities such as remedial, enrichment, and extracurricular activities, according to MALDEF. For example, 57 percent of elementary schools, 62 percent of middle schools, and 72 percent of high schools on a multi-track system ranked in the lowest three deciles on the Academic Performance Index (API) test scores in 2004.
"All of these measures—multi-track systems, busing, portable classrooms-- were meant to be temporary band aids," says Francisco Estrada, director of Public Policy for MALDEF. "But if these schools are not counted as overcrowded, hundreds of thousands of students are left in inferior schools making learning and achieving much harder." The report points out that program rules are designed to respond to new population growth, not to address existing overcrowding, making it difficult for many overcrowded schools to receive funding.
"More resources are needed to address overcrowding," states Estrada. "The new Critically Overcrowded Schools Program set aside $4.1 billion to build new schools to reduce overcrowding. This is an important step, but is far below what is needed from the state to meet the need." The report estimates that the cost of the state fully implementing the current COS policy could be as much as $18 billion. According to PolicyLink and MALDEF researchers, California can better address overcrowding by:
Changing the funding rules so that districts with overcrowded schools receive their fair share of New Construction funds;
"Overcrowded schools make learning difficult for many of California's children. They contribute to low test scores and graduation rates, have a negative impact on our economy, and create short and long term problems for California," adds Colmenar. "The Department of Finance estimates that the school age population in California will hold steady over the next 5 to 7 years, and then increase sharply between 2013 and 2024. The next few years, therefore, provide a perfect window of opportunity for directing resources to overcrowded schools and erasing the school facilities deficit in the state."
For a copy of report: http://www.policylink.org/Research/SchoolOvercrowding/
PolicyLink is a national nonprofit research, communications, capacity building, and advocacy organization, dedicated to advancing policies to achieve economic and social equity based on the wisdom, voice, and experience of local constituencies.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote and protect the rights of Latinos through advocacy, community education and outreach, leadership development, higher education scholarships and when necessary through the legal system.